Monthly Archives: August 2010

Administrative , , Leave a comment

Attention Shoppers! It’s Time to Invest in the Business

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Our  “new normal”  economy has regrettably resulted in sluggish business for most Freelancers and we are forced to watch our pennies.  The financial squeeze may tempt many to cease spending on all expenditures deemed nonessential,  but it’s wise to be strategic about what gets relegated to that category.

In fact,  judicious expenditures for the right business upgrades will help us to fight back against the recession and demonstrate to clients that our business remains viable.  If your credit line can handle it,  this is an ideal time to invest in your business by purchasing almost any type of equipment or promotional service.   Fourth quarter purchases are sweetened by the knowledge that the tax deductions will flow back to you a little faster.

So let’s go shopping!  There’s plenty of inventory in the stores,  despite diminished wholesale purchases,  and prices have never been better.  Now is an excellent time to replace or upgrade  computers and other IT equipment,  office furniture or even a company vehicle.  Commercial real estate is likewise more plentiful and hence affordable,  so if trading up has been on your wish list,  investigate options now.   Plus,  if a build-out is necessary,  those in the trades are ready and willing to provide quality work at competitive prices. 

Advertising space is likewise more plentiful and hence more affordable.  Discounts are available and payment terms are gentle.  Revisit publications and online sites that were previously out of your reach and ask what can be done for you now.  Do not be afraid to negotiate.  The buyer’s market is in full effect.

Now,  take a look at your website.  Does it look a little dull?  Maybe the text could use some sharpening?  Or perhaps you’d finally like to have a logo?  What might help your website to communicate your brand and core services more effectively,  or provide a compelling  “call to action”  to potential clients?  Web developers,  graphic artists and copywriters continue to be busy,  but not so much that they won’t take on smaller  jobs and do good work at a reasonable price.

The  “new normal”  economy also makes this an excellent time to hire,  if you can make the case that an extra body or two will increase revenue.  There are so many highly qualified professionals searching desperately for cash-generating projects that you will be able to hire someone (maybe part time?) to write your monthly newsletter,  manage social media,  cold call prospects and set appointments for your follow-up,  manage the books and accounts payable and receivable or just about anything else you need taken off your plate.

Finally,  our professional skills are our most valuable asset and also deserve investment.  I’ve seen more generous than expected early-bird registration discounts offered for numerous seminars,  since organizers are anxious to fill rooms.  Take advantage of this trend and sign up for training that perhaps you previously could not afford.  You may also want to have a few sessions with a business coach,  who may now offer money-saving incentives to stimulate business,  and work on other ways you can find competitive advantages for your business venture.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Professional Development , Leave a comment

Manners Maven

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A couple of years ago,  I had coffee with a very successful risk management Freelance consultant.  As we chatted about business,  he related an interesting story about a client who hired him earlier in the year.  The client told him that he had interviewed several candidates for the project and all were highly qualified. 

His team chose this particular gentleman because he had the best manners.  (I always knew he was a classy guy!) After considerable  experience in working with Freelancers,  the client and his team concluded that good manners matter and just about everything else can be learned on the job. 

I’m not  sure that many project leaders consider manners and etiquette as prime factors in the Freelancer hiring process,  but I am certain that poor business etiquette will have a deleterious effect on that decision.

Business schools and even medical schools have finally begun to address this previously overlooked soft skill.  Most of us have had enough of the me-first,  I’m entitled,  self-absorbed behaviors that have migrated from so-called reality TV shows and into daily life and work.  As antidote,  here are a few tactics that will incorporate some subtle niceties into your business communications and interactions:

1.  Dial your business phone and listen to your outgoing message.  Does it sound professional and welcoming?  Would you want to do business with the person who created that message?  If your OGM is less than pleasing,  re-record and smile as you speak.  Smiling forces us to slow our speech,  enunciate clearly and adopt a pleasant tone of voice. 

2.  When in a meeting,  devote your full attention to the proceedings.  Turn off your phone,  computer (unless you will use it to take meeting notes) and all other electronic distractions.

3.  After meeting with an associate who is helping you in some way,  send to that person a thank you email within 24-48 hours.  Especially if your meeting was with a client or prospect,  recount major points discussed and confirm any agreed-upon actions. 

4.  If a business meeting is held in a restaurant,  the person who initiates the meeting pays the check.  When meeting with a client or prospect,  offer to pay the check even if that individual requested the meeting.

5.  When meeting prospects and colleagues at a networking or similar event,  refrain from pushing your business card onto every person that you encounter.  Save the card exchange for those with whom you have a discussion that points to follow-up conversations.

6.  Treat assistants with respect.  If the assistant is someone you will speak with more than once,  ask his/her name,  remember the name and greet that individual by name  on subsequent visits to the office.  Be advised that the assistant may control access to the client.  If you are rude or dismissive,  word of such behavior will be passed along and it could cost you.  Besides,  assistants often have information that may help you to sell your services.  Be nice and make the assistant your ally.

7.  At Christmas,  send a card to all clients with whom you’ve worked over the last 3-4 years.  It’s good business to stay in touch.

8.  When an invoice is 45+ days old,  contact the accounts payable or finance department and confirm that the invoice was received.  Could it have been lost? Unless the invoice is 90+ days old,  avoid contacting the client about billing matters.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Marketing , Leave a comment

Building Credibility: A Brand Advancement Ad Campaign

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Freelancers know that silence = death and visibility promotes business viability.  To that end,  we craft an expert elevator pitch to serve as our verbal package and take that on the road,  hoping it will open doors for us.  We position ourselves as experts by speaking,  teaching,  attending conferences and writing a newsletter or blog.  We attend selected networking events and business association meetings so that we can connect with prospective clients and colleagues.

The next step in this process is to upgrade visibility to credibility,  for that is the way to convert prospects into clients.  As you brainstorm strategies that might advance your  brand and build credibility,  examine the benefits that a print media campaign can deliver. 

Print media are still very much with us and I would argue,  still effective,  despite significant inroads by the various (and sometimes free) online media.  Print ads can be costly,  but if you can find the budget,  this option can be worth your while.  Begin to assess your priorities:

1.  The objective.  Decide what you would like to accomplish.  Do you want to establish credibility among clients and B2B peer referral sources?  Are you announcing a new product or service?  Do you want to stimulate business within a new target market?

2.  The audience.  Who must you reach to accomplish your objectives? Which publications are read and respected by that audience?

3.  The budget.  Visit publication websites and peruse the rate cards.  See also the demographic data:  circulation,  distribution,  special issues that might benefit your  objectives,  etc.  What size ad can you afford to place for how many times during the year?

Additionally,  you may decide to mail a postcard to a professional group to which important clients belong—if you can obtain an address list.  Mailings are expensive,  although printing costs have dropped dramatically over the years.  It is possible to mail at bulk rate,  which is much slower but much cheaper.

Placement

If you belong to a chamber of commerce or similar business association,  consider advertising in its newsletter (whether print or online), which will be published at least quarterly.  Ad rates are typically reasonable and it’s usually read by members.

If your objective is to build your credibility among colleagues and therefore stimulate B2B referrals,  and/or to announce a new product or service,  this will be an excellent ad placement choice.  Newsletter advertisements are a great way to remind fellow members of who you are and what you do.  When you attend association events,  it is likely that colleagues will mention your ad and ask questions about your business.  Referrals could follow. 

It may also be possible to place ads in the newsletters of professional associations to which clients belong.  Whether your objective is to enter a new market,  announce new products /services or build credibility,  these publications likewise make excellent ad placement choices.

Depending upon your target market and budget,  neighborhood newspapers or the local business newspaper will also provide excellent ad placement options that will help you to achieve your brand advancement and credibility building objectives.

Message

Whatever your objective,  remember that there is power and elegance in simplicity.  Express your product and service features,  benefits and tagline (if you have one) using terminology that will grab your audience.  Use clear and compelling language that sells your core services and portrays you as a competent and reliable professional.  Use that refrain in all ad placements.

Design

Hire a professional (or a student) to devise a good visual concept,  even if your ad will be text-only and business card size.  Your ad must look sleek and professional—just like you!  The style of your business card will be the starting point for the development of a graphic style for your ad.  Use the colors,  logo (if you have one) and graphic look in all  ad placements.

Frequency

Consistency is key in advertising:  the message,  graphic style and frequency of the ad must be repeated again and again.  Studies have shown that ads don’t register with the target audience until they have been seen at least three times.  Budget your ad placements to appear several times throughout the year,  at least bi-monthly.  One time only ads are a waste of money.  It is better to appear in one publication 4-6 times a year than in two publications 2-3 times a year.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

  

 

Survival Strategies , , Leave a comment

The Law of Attraction

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Let’s chat for a moment about competitive advantage.  For sure,  we must identify and/or invent as many as possible.  One often overlooked competitive advantage is to make everyone think that we HAVE competitive advantage.  Pretty slick,  huh?

Think of it this way:  perception is reality and everybody loves a winner.  Precious few come to the rescue of the down and out.  Failure is frightening and depressing and no one wants to come near,  lest the misfortune rub off on them.

Conversely,  the appearance of success is a magnet for still more success,  mostly because people think you deserve it (you must be doing something right!) and can handle it.  Today’s lesson is that image counts,  so always make yourself  look and feel like a winner.  Invite success to your door—or at the very least,  don’t make it turn tail and run away from you!

Dress for success

When attending any type of function at which you might possibly meet a prospective client, dress appropriately.  Respect the occasion and wear the right casual,  formal or business attire.  Invest in good quality clothing (hit the end-of-season sales) that flatters your body type.  Good quality clothing looks better,  lasts many years and is worth the money because when amortized,  it actually costs less than the cheap stuff.  Dress to impress.

Project the positive

Be enthusiastic and passionate about life and business.  Let your body language,  voice,  eyes and mannerisms  sparkle with good energy.  Walk into every room with confidence,  hold your head high and radiate a positive aura.  Others will be attracted to your glowing presence and they will cross the room to introduce themselves,  to have the pleasure of meeting and talking with you. 

Greet one and all with a firm handshake and a warm smile.  Make good eye contact and show that you are delighted to make their acquaintance and are interested in what they have to say.  People like to do business with people who have positive energy.  It  suggests honesty and expertise and therefore inspires confidence and trust.

You’re worth it

Create a strong value proposition for your business.  Establish that your products and services are top drawer,  will provide unique and highly desirable benefits and therefore command a premium price in the marketplace.  Communicate that your products and services are worth the investment.

Get to know the objectives and priorities of your typical customers and broadcast the benefits that resonate most.  Gather information that allows you to anticipate customer needs and deliver 5 star service every time.  Make your customers grateful to do business with you by knowing how to solve their problems and make them look smart for hiring you.

Do your best to maintain your prices,  even when there is pressure to offer discounts that are outside of your pricing strategy.  There may be times when you must relent,  but defend your position by learning to clearly articulate the ROI of  doing business with you.  Think cariage trade,  not cut-rate.

Business is great

Creditors may be ready to foreclose,  but do not let on to your clients!  Moreover,  be discreet with colleagues,  lest word of your troubles gets bandied about.  The smell of desperation is repellant and clients will take their business elsewhere if it appears that your ship is sinking.  If you expect to do any business at all,  it is imperative that you project capability and dependability.  Financial insolvency does not inspire confidence,  no matter how it happens. 

Remember always that people do business with people that they know and like.  They do more business with people they trust and respect.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Professional Development , , Leave a comment

Your Advisory Board

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Every successful business owner benefits from the wise counsel of a select group of experts,  who offer a differential diagnosis that brings fresh air and information into the room and drags us out of the echo chamber of our auto-pilot  habits and ingrained perspectives.

Fortunately,  life equips us with an advisory board,  whether or not we recognize it as such.  Unfortunately,  most of the advice we receive is bad,  starting with what know-it-all cousin Howie and meddlesome Aunt Sheila have to say (those two will have you broke in six months!).

No,  our real advisory board must be carefully curated.  One must know whose advice generally should be heeded and whose advice basically should be ignored.  The advisory board that we consult can be informal.  It is not necessary to create a formal board unless the business demands it.  But we should check in regularly,  to find out what is new on the horizen,  figure out how to solve problems faster,  brainstorm intriguing new ideas and overall learn how to work not just hard,  but smart.

Clients

As numerous experts repeatedly recommend,  listen to your clients and receive a wealth of information.  Customers give the outside-in,  other side of the desk view and what they value most can be surprising.  You cannot always fathom what customer priorities will be and you won’t know until you let them tell you.

Customers are essential members of our advisory board.  The client represents the marketplace and when the market speaks, business owners must listen.   Ask  for customer feedback in the form of evaluations,  surveys,  or plain old Q & A over coffee.  Ask what they like about your products and services;  ask what would enhance the experience of doing business with you;  ask about upcoming trends in their organizations and figure out what you can monetize.

Employees

If you have employees,  seek out their insights and advice on how your business protocols might be improved.  Employees are in the trenches and often know better than the owner about how the business is perceived by customers.  Employees are uniquely positioned to give very valuable feedback.  Owners and managers should be smart enough to listen.  

Likewise our accountant,  attorney and other professional service providers,  through the unique prism of their specialty,  may offer useful advice that can have a positive impact on the business.   A wise business owner creates  an environment where employees know that their opinions and advice are welcomed,  respected and at least occasionally implemented.

Competitors

Do speak with experienced people within your industry,  including competitors.  Many will be happy to share a few pearls of wisdom with you,  especially if they operate in another geographic locale.  Marketing tips and other promotional strategies can be  good topics to discuss,  as could the types of services that resonate most with clients these days.  If your summer vacation means travel,  don’t be afraid to do some soft-touch networking.  You might get some timely advice from a seasoned pro.

Roundtables

Additionally,  I think you will find it useful to have also a structured advisory board esperience and for this I recommend membership in a peer group,  also known as a CEO forum or roundtable.  Groups consist of perhaps a dozen business owners in non-competing industries,  are often segmented by number of employees and annual revenues and usually meet monthly for about 2 hours.  The idea is to assemble a group of business owners who share a  similar profile and who therefore have the  perspective to offer relevant advice and support to fellow members. 

When properly facilitated,  group members function as each other’s board of directors.  There is guidance and support on decision-making.  Members celebrate successes.  New ways to consider and resolve business challenges are put forth.  Opportunities may be discovered,  goal setting is encouraged and members hold one another accountable for progress and achievement.  Peer roundtables can provide a welcome source of support and inspiration and do much to overcome the isolation that many business owners experience.

Thanks for reading,

Kim